Project uses AI, crowdsourcing to piece together history through photos
If a picture is worth a thousand words, the Civil War Photo Sleuth digital archive and crowdsourcing project deserves more ink than any one person could ever spill.
The software platform, originally funded by a National Science Foundation grant and developed in 2018 by Kurt Luther, associate professor of computer science, and his Ph.D. advisee Vikram Mohanty, has grown substantially since its launch at the National Archives in Washington, D.C.
Driving that growth has been the participation of other Civil War history buffs and collectors. That community, numbering about 600 registered users at launch, has grown to more than 20,000.
“Our site now hosts over 60,000 photos, the majority of them identified, making it possibly the largest source of digitized Civil War portraits in existence,” said Luther.
Luther and Mohanty launched Civil War Photo Sleuth along with journalist Ron Coddington, who owns Military Images Magazine. The project has identified unknown or misidentified photos for the Library of Congress, National Archives, National Portrait Gallery, American Civil War Museum, Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library, and many others to date. But Coddington believes this particular slice of American history was the perfect one around which to form such a project, given the passion with which those interested in it pursue learning the truth and details.
“The one thing that distinguishes Civil War photo collectors is they are crazy research people,” said Coddington. “They want to know every identity. They want to know every detail about the service. They want to know everything that’s on the uniform. They want to know it all.”
As the site has grown, its capabilities have expanded to include new blends of human and artificial intelligence (AI). Just as crucial as the photo submissions themselves is the participation of the growing community of members, whose expertise is crowdsourced to help with verification. When a user suggests a possible identification now, others can vote on whether or not they agree and provide evidence for why or why not.
The site also has another new feature called BackTrace, which uses AI-based computer vision to identify the painted backdrops common in 19th century photos. By identifying specific backdrops, a researcher can often narrow down a photo to both a studio location, as well as a photographer, providing new vectors of information.
“When a researcher gets stuck trying to identify a soldier photo, discovering the photographer provides a fresh lead to suggest new connections to certain locations or military units,” said Luther.
Last summer, Civil War Photo Sleuth entered the next phase of its evolution, incorporating as a Virginia-based nonprofit called The Photo Sleuth Foundation. Founded by Luther, Coddington, and Mohanty, the new structure allows for the continued expansion of historical research, preservation, and education.
“The model is a great fit for our mission of rediscovering the lost names and stories of people in historical photos through community and technology,” said Luther.
Through the launch of the nonprofit, Luther hopes to build on the foundation he’s created to expand his work to other historical eras. But just like with the work done so far, it will only be as successful as the amount of participation and buy-in the team can get from others interested in forming communities to research, learn, and share their stories.
“Once you identify the photograph, you’re able to tell the story,” said Coddington. “What did they do in a particular moment that could have been a turning point in U.S. history? Or, on a smaller scale, how did they touch a particular narrative that’s part of our culture?
The more names put to faces, the more a patchwork quilt of history begins to unravel.
“We’re eager to partner with anyone who has historical photos they would like to share or learn about, from public and private organizations like galleries, libraries, archives, and museums, to individuals with a shoebox of old family photos in their attic or basement,” said Luther. “Each photo is a piece of the puzzle, and we’re excited to continue our work helping to restore names to the faces of history.”
To learn more about Civil War Photo Sleuth and the The Photo Sleuth Foundation, join Luther and Coddington for Tech on Tap at Virginia Tech’s Academic Building One in Alexandria on Thursday, April 24, at 6 p.m. Get your tickets today.